No trial for former German FA bosses over World Cup payment

No trial for former German FA bosses over World Cup payment – court The Saigon Times Daily File photo of Theo Zwanziger, former president of the German Football Association (DFB) and member of the FIFA’s executive committee addressing a news conference after a meeting of the FIFA executive committee in Zurich March 21, 2014 – PHOTO: REUTERS BERLIN (REUTERS) – Two former heads of the German Football Association and two other officials will not go on trial for suspected tax evasion over a payment ahead of the 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany, Frankfurt’s regional court said on Monday. Former DFB chiefs Theo Zwanziger and Wolfgang Niersbach as well as fellow former DFB General Secretary Horst Schmidt and a former world soccer body FIFA official were charged in June. But the regional court said it had “not seen enough suspicion of wrongdoing” to warrant a trial. The Prosecutor’s office has one week to appeal against the decision which was welcomed by the current DFB leadership. “We see our legal opinion confirmed through this decision of the regional court in Frankfurt,” DFB President Reinhard Grindel said in a statement. “That the case of the 6.7 million euros (US$7.77 million) was indeed a business-related expense. We now hope that we also achieve legal clarity in the taxation process.” The four men had always denied any wrongdoing. The Frankfurt prosecutor charged them with serious tax evasion in connection with the 2006 World Cup, accusing them of arranging submission of incorrect tax returns to… [Read full story]